1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image output control apparatus, an image output control method, an image output control program, and a printer to output both a stereo image and an ordinary image to a printer, a display device, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stereo image, namely, three-dimensional imaging (hereinafter simply referred to as 3DI) has been well known. Specifically, when viewing two images, parallax between the two eyes makes it possible to view the two images in three dimensions. It is known to provide an apparatus that prints out such stereo images. The above-mentioned apparatus makes a merged or composite stereo image with left-eye and right-eye images at optimal intervals so as to print out the merged or composite image as a stereo image. The left-eye and right-eye images are composed of separate image files or separate frames.
In recent years, with the advancements of multifunctional equipment for taking images such as a digital camera, another type of equipment for taking images has been proposed. This equipment is capable of storing a pair of stereo images that utilizes the parallax between the two eyes. The equipment such as a digital camera is not always used for storing the stereo images; however, the equipment can selectively be used for both normal images, namely, two-dimensional flat images (hereinafter simply referred to as 2DI) and the stereo images, namely, three-dimensional spatial images, as required. Therefore, both the normal images and stereo images are stored in a built-in recording medium such as a memory card or the like.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional print example. In the case where various images that are stored in the recording medium are output as image files, that is, a list of the image files such as index is displayed or printed out; the multiple images are output in a predetermined order of the image files. Referring to FIG. 1, the images 2DI (1), 2DI (2), 3DI (1), and 3DI (2) are output to an output area 100, in the order of DSC001, DSC002, DSC003, and DSC004. Here, the images 2DI (1) and 2DI (2) are enlarged or reduced normal images, depending on the size of the output area 100 such as a printout paper, or a display screen. The images 3DI (1) and 3DI (2) are the stereo images that respectively contain a pair of the left-eye and right-eye image data.
However, in the case where both the normal image 2DI and the stereo image 3DI are output, it is hard for a user to distinguish the normal image 2DI from the stereo image 3DI at aglance. Particularly, in the case where the images are complex or intricate, there is a possibility that the normal image 2DI is mistaken for the stereo image 3DI. Also, there is another possibility that the stereo image 3DI is mistaken for the normal image 2DI.